“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Serving as a missionary pastor in Germany, I regularly experience the church as kind of fortress, where refugees hope to be granted church asylum. When I served as a pastor in Oklahoma, we once hunkered down in a church basement, seeking protection from a tornado barreling our way. But imagine running *away* from the House of God during Vespers because enemy missiles are approaching. “Quick! Run to the air raid shelter!” This recently happened in our Lutheran church in Tel Aviv, as my friend Sahar Sadlovsky Gold shares in this video. I have reported on Sahar frequently in the past and this is his latest update. A lot of ink—digital or otherwise—has been spilled about Israel in recent years, especially since the horrific attack by Hamas terrorists on peaceful Israelis on October 7th, 2023. But how often do we think about the Christians in Judea, Samaria, and even in Gaza, who are living in harm’s way? Aided by our triune God, Brother Sahar is ministering to his flock in Tel Aviv, herding them not only to the temporal safety of an air raid shelter but, even more importantly, guiding them to the eternal safety of our Lord. Believers of every era have been persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ—whether by Old Testament Egyptians or Babylonians, pagan Romans, wolves in sheep’s clothing in the medieval church, or by Iranian mullahs in our own day. But we pray that the Lord would protect not only all the innocent civilians in that region but also our dear brothers and sisters in the faith who at any given moment have to run for their lives, enduring constant spiritual and also physical onslaughts from the rulers, authorities, and the cosmic powers over this present darkness, from the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The Tiews in Germany 